Michael Houser may not look the part of a starting goalie in the NHL.
The mask worn by Houser during his six games with the Buffalo Sabres is emblazoned with the logo of the Rochester Americans, and while the 29-year-old is listed at 6-foot-1, he doesn’t have the physical stature you see in most goalies around the league.
Houser has played 258 games in the ECHL, including three with the Cincinnati Cyclones this fall, and despite an outstanding track record at that level, has not appeared in more than 11 games in the American Hockey League in any season since 2014-15.
However, when called upon twice in as many seasons to solve the Sabres’ calamity in net, Houser has performed like an NHL goalie, delivering a .917 save percentage and 4-2 record. He is undefeated in two starts since rejoining the club this month and will be tasked with playing at least one game of the Sabres’ weekend back-to-back in Arizona and Colorado.
“Tip your (hat) off to him, he came in a tough spot and has come in and done the job and done everything you’ve asked of him, the team asked from him,” said Sabres goalie Craig Anderson, a 19-year veteran of the NHL. “Kudos to him. Same thing, he wants to go out there and earn his ice and earn his spot. Why not him? That would be my message to him. Why not you? The door’s open, kick it open.”
The question, though, is which other goalie will coach Don Granato dress against the Coyotes and Avalanche on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The latest crisis in the crease occurred because Aaron Dell was suspended three games for his hit on Ottawa’s Drake Batherson.
Dell was suspended three games Wednesday by the NHL's Department of Player Safety for lowering his shoulder and knocking Drake Batherson to the ice at 18:57 into the first period of the Sabres’ 5-0 loss Tuesday at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre.
Anderson practiced with the Sabres again Thursday – his first on-ice session with his own net since he last played in a game Nov. 2 – and Dustin Tokarski rejoined the team as he continues to push to return from the lingering effects of a bout with Covid-19.
Both will have one more practice to gauge their readiness, whether it be in a starting or backup role, and they will make the final decision, said Granato, who has used eight different goalies since he became coach in March.
“Both Craig and Tokarski have had injuries that nobody knows but them,” Granato added. “No doctor, no medical advisor; it’s just how they feel and only they know how they feel with what they’re dealing with. So, yeah, they remain day to day because of that, and we sit and wait for them. … It really is, there is a mystery to all of this.”
Houser has played back-to-back games many times in the minors and did so for the Sabres in May, delivering consecutive wins over the New York Islanders. This assignment is different, though. Buffalo (13-22-7) opens the three-game trip against the last-place Coyotes, but the Avalanche’s 17-game win streak at home is the fifth-longest in NHL history.
Then comes a road matchup Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights in T-Mobile Arena. It’s conceivable that Houser could be needed for all three games because time is on the Sabres’ side. The All-Star break begins Wednesday.
That would give Anderson, Tokarski and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen eight days between games to recover from their respective ailments. Luukkonen, the Sabres’ top signed goalie prospect, had a .917 save percentage in nine NHL appearances before suffering a lower-body injury that has him out week to week. He won’t be an option on this trip, but it’s likely he’ll be ready after the break.
Anderson and Tokarski were a solid tandem for the Sabres at the start of the season. Anderson had a .921 save percentage and 4-2 record in six starts, while Tokarski’s save percentage was .907 in 14 games before he entered Covid-19 protocol on Dec. 1.
Though Anderson knows the Sabres need help in net, he plans to only return if he's physically ready.
“There’s no pressure,” said Anderson. “When the time is right, the time is right. We’re all competitors. I’m a competitor. My job is to get better and get out there and play, and I want to play. I think that’s the best thing, is the mentality of wanting to play. But on the other side of it, you have to be honest with yourself. Just because if you’re not honest with yourself, A. you’re going to hurt yourself, or B. you’re going to hurt the team. And that’s just a selfish play."
This is the opportunity Houser coveted long before he led the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights to a Memorial Cup in 2012. He was named the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Year in 2018-19 and has played for nine teams in his 10 years as a professional.
Despite Houser’s impressive performances for Buffalo last spring – including a .901 save percentage – he had to return on an AHL contract this season. Houser has stopped 73 of 77 shots in his two starts since rejoining the Sabres, providing the club with a solution in net when they desperately needed an NHL-caliber goaltender because Malcom Subban also suffered a season-ending injury.
And it's Houser who will have to man the crease until another goalie is ready.
“Before the callups, I’ve always kind of thought that I could play here or I could come win games here, but you never know until you actually do it,” said Houser. “I guess that moment would have been last year when I won my first one. I played pretty well in that one and I just knew that I could play here, I could compete and give our team a chance to win. ... Next game is the most important one that I’ve basically ever played.”
Another addition
Defenseman Casey Fitzgerald was assigned to the taxi squad prior to practice Thursday. Fitzgerald, 24, has four goals and nine points in 24 games with Rochester. He has appeared in four games with the Sabres this season.
